At Whiskers Vets, we are acutely aware of the environmental threats faced from the use of unsustainable products. As such, we are committed to reducing our waste and improving our overall sustainability. We aim to achieve this in several different ways and will continually adjust our methods of achieving this as the resources and environmental picture evolves. As set out by the Greener Veterinary Practice checklist from Vet Sustain, we will be focusing on the following:

• Practicing responsible resource use
• Improving the sustainability of how we operate
• Using medicines responsibly
• Empowering the team

To achieve these goals, we follow the guidance from various organisations including:

• BSAVA – ‘Protect me’ poster for safe use of antimicrobials
• ESCCAP – policy for responsible use of anthelmintics (wormers)
• Vet Sustain

Whilst this will be an ongoing and evolving project to continually improve our way of working, as of 2023 we have implemented the following:

1. Reducing electricity use
   1. Turning off lights in rooms when not in use
   2. Turning off all computers at the end of the day
   3. Only leaving the air conditioning on overnight in the pharmacy and prep room (to maintain appropriate temperatures for medication storage)
2. Paper use
   1. Printing double sided where possible
   2. Gradually moving towards a fully computerised system
   3. With our new computer system, we now can contact you much more efficiently via email or text message with results, post-operative instructions and prescriptions.
   4. We now have access to systems that allow us to manage insurance claims entirely digitally for some companies.
3. Recycling
   1. We recycle all syringe/needle/autoclave and drip bag packaging
   2. Food tins are rinsed and recycled
   3. We recycle all wastepaper where possible.
   4. We use sharps bins made from recycled plastic where possible.
4. Surgery
   1. Using reusable gowns and scrub hats
   2. Standard operating procedures are followed for the correct removal of anaesthetic pollutants
   3. Improving our analgesia protocols be incorporation the use of multimodal analgesia to reduce the amount of anaesthestic gas used
   4. Switching from ACP (acepromazine) premedication to alpha 2 agonist premedication where possible to reduce the amount of anaesthetic gas used.
   5. Sterilium for surgical prep to reduce water usage.
5. General
   1. The washing machine and tumble dryer are only run when full
   2. Reuse fluid bags as bandage protection
   3. Only biodegradable poo bags are used for inpatients and sold in reception
   4. Use of a distilled water maker to reduce purchase of plastic bottles
   5. Reuse of buster collars where possible.
   6. Use of bamboo toothbrushes for cleaning our clippers

There are of course some areas that we still need to work on, and these are our main priority entering into 2025. Ongoing areas of improvement are:

1. Researching options for environmentally friendly laundry powder, washing up liquid, syringes and cat litter
2. Introducing online access to lab reports and insurance documents to reduce paper printing.
3. Introducing a paperless communication app and system to communicate with clients.
4. Research bioplastic gloves and aprons
5. Research recycled buster collars and syringes.